April 10, 2017
It’s funny how the Dodgers don’t look that great against real competition. If only they could play the Padres every week. They still also don’t look great against left handed pitching. Any team facing the Dodgers might as well go get a 12-year-old left hander, and start them against the boys in blue, and they should have no problem shutting them down. Maybe if Andrew Friedman stopped forcing Dave Roberts to move guys in and out of the lineup like he was changing lines on a hockey team, the Dodgers might have more success hitting against pitchers that have no business shutting them down. It’s also no surprise Rich Hill is back on the DL with a blister injury. Hopefully he has already started peeing on it to make it better.
As for the Angels, they are off to a nice 5-2 start after a huge comeback win yesterday afternoon. However, it feels like we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop and the season to fall apart. Ricky Nolasco has put up a decent effort in two starts, but if the Halos are relying on Nolasco to be their most reliable pitcher, they can count on being eliminated from playoff contention before the Clippers. There’s no true ace on the staff. Garrett Richards could be, but his arm could need to be replaced by the time he throws his next pitch. The bullpen has no defined roles, and the division is tougher than facing Mike Tyson in the ring with one hand tied behind your back.
To the NBA, where the Lakers tanking efforts aren’t going well. Then again, what more do you want them to do? The Lakers have shut down Timofey Mozgov, Luol Deng, and Nick Young. They are even sitting D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram when they start to play well. All of this, and they have found a way to win 4 in a row at the worst time. Each win further damaging their chance to hang on to their top 3 protected pick. Now there’s no chance the Lakers will have better than a 46% chance at keeping the pick, because you can bet they will finish with the 3rd best record. If the Lakers come away from this garbage season without a lottery pick, I’m going to want to jump off the Santa Monica pier. It’s especially frustrating knowing how pointless that 10-10 start was.
As for the Clippers, they have the inside track for home court advantage against the Jazz in the 1st round. They are starting to play well, and should have no problem taking care of Utah in 4 or 5 games. However, they also have the inside track on taking a serious beating from the Golden State Warriors in the 2nd round. The Clips have proven by now that they have a major matchup advantage against the Spurs. Unfortunately, they probably won’t get the chance to exploit that matchup in the playoffs. As good as Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are, they may have just come along at the wrong time. I guess we’ll find out in a few weeks.
I was wondering what happened to Lavar Ball since we hadn’t heard from him in a few weeks. Sure enough, he emerged from his silence, and blamed the UCLA loss on having “three slow white guys” on the court. I guess nobody told Lavar that his son is only half black. Of course Lavar decided to blame the media for taking his words out of context. It’s only a matter of time before the man gets a radio show on ESPN Radio 710 AM, as well as his own reality show.
Last week’s NCAA Basketball National Championship game was just a reminder of how awful college basketball has become. Gonzaga and UNC could not throw the ball into the ocean for most of the game. It was competitive, but the UNC victory was sloppier than a Thursday night on sorority row at USC. The one and done has destroyed the quality of college basketball, and the quality of the NBA. I remember when college basketball had great players, and those great players came into the NBA and made an impact right away. Gone are those days, and they probably aren’t coming back anytime soon.
How ironic was this? Tony Romo has intercepted Phil Simms broadcasting career at CBS. Here’s a look at Romo’s inbox after announcing his retirement, and move into broadcasting…..
Good thing Sergio Garcia won the Masters. No pressure or anything, but Donald Trump was going to deport him had he finished in 2nd. Garcia winning the green jacket is like seeing Jay Cutler win a Super Bowl. Let’s be honest though. We’re all just mad that Dustin Johnson didn’t play in the Masters because we didn’t get to see a weekend of Paulina Gretzky on TV. Somewhere at a night club in Vegas, Johnson and Tiger Woods were probably partying with hookers and cocaine.
Let’s go to the ice where the Ducks claimed their 5th straight Pacific Division title yesterday with an overtime win over the Kings, in the regular season finale for both teams. In that time, they don’t have a single Stanley Cup. Are there odds any better this year? I’ll believe it when I see it, but they might as well have a first round bye since they are playing the Calgary Flames. The last time Calgary won in Anaheim, Lance Armstrong was still seen as an American hero. That playoff series is over and it hasn’t even started.
As for the Kings, the story is Bob Miller, their hall of fame play-by-play announcer. Miller is a voice that I will always remember as part of my childhood listening to Kings game. I have always been impressed with his ability to call an exciting game, whether or not the Kings were winning or losing. His professionalism is second to none. Sadly, he is also the last hall of fame LA sports broadcaster to retire between Chick Hearn, Vin Scully, and now him. Congrats on a legendary career Bob, and glad to see that the Kings were able to win two cups for you before you retired. Given the state of the Kings though, it might be a while before we see them win another cup.